Son of a Glitch
by Andi Matrix
Summary: Glitch deals with the fact that he's a keytool and realizes that he has been wrong all along.


I sat on the cold table and watched them pass me. Those futile guardians would never know my true power. Guardians are useless without their keytools. I am not a slave!

Unfortunately, there was nothing for me to do but be treated like a slave. As soon as I picked a guardian it would be, "Glitch this, Glitch that". There! That one would do I supposed. I felt a strange connection to the young guardian but I refused to admit it.

"'Oi! Pika-Bob! I choose you!"

I watched the guardian jump with joy and tell his friends he had been chosen. The young Bob wrote his name on a card and placed it by me. I would be given to him at the ceremony the cycle after. I spent that night on the table. My fellow keytools who had not chosen a guardian offered me their congratulations. Can you believe it? They were actually happy for me! They were completely random! I couldn't understand why they were congratulating me because I saw this as the end of the world. I began to yell at my friends. 

"Keytools are not high tech wristwatches. We are sentient beings that live symbiotically with useless guardians! Fools that do not know that have my deep pity! Keytool prejudice is rampant. They treat us like slaves! How dare they call us 'tools'! We are the 'key' to the survival of guardians. If it weren't for us, viruses would have killed them all!"

"Thank you very much, Martin Luther Glitch. You are truly the leader of keytools who is fighting for a system that's fair. You'll see the error of your words. Just wait." Another keytool remarked snidely.

I continued, paying no attention to the words spoken by a keytool I had once considered my friend, "We are called 'keytools' because we are the key to the survival of guardians and we can become a variety of tools. Most guardians without us are dead guardians. We deserve more respect."

Nobody else said anything. They didn't care and they didn't want freedom.

The next cycle I was placed on the podium to await the ceremony. I hastily said goodbye to my comrades. They were glad to see me go. Turbo made a speech congratulating the guardians who had been chosen and telling the others that one-day they would be picked. He told them that they just had to wait until the time was right. Copeland told me the words I needed to hear, "You are young, keytool, but you will soon learn the value of your purpose. You are not here to fight for your freedom; this is your freedom. You will soon know."

Over the next hours of my life I was forced to do the guardian's bidding. I was surprised to find that we soon formed a friendship. Many a time I helped Bob win a game. By winning the games, Bob and I saved the lives of multitudes of innocent citizens. We had become a team. I began to realize that I no longer felt forced to obey Bob anymore. In fact, often he would not know what to do and would turn to me for help. I tried the best I could. I wanted to do everything in my power to help Bob. He was truly my friend. I can't think how many times I thanked him for his help, and how many he thanked me for mine. Copeland's words came back to me and I realized how true they had been. Everyone had been right; I had been very wrong.

Then a terrible thing happened! A conniving and despicable virus named Megabyte tore me from Bob's arm, crushed me and threw me onto the floor. He then threw Bob into a compartment and sent him into the web. A merciless crime, that virus felt no compassion. It left me stricken. This was my best friend and now he was dead! Dot was heartbroken, yet she didn't forget me. She picked me up and handed me to the newly fledged guardian, Enzo.

"Enzo... I'm sorry."

"No!" Enzo wailed.

It all went downhill from there. Thank the user Mouse had converted Enzo's, AndrAIa's and Frisket's icons to gamesprite mode or we would have ended up nullified. We left with the game we had so poorly lost and traveled with other games, passing from system to system; losing hope at each. I wanted Bob; I wanted to go back to Mainframe. This was no life for me, I had found my purpose and my purpose was to aid Bob. It was not to float around in the web in search of him! I should have been with him. 

I could have been destroyed by pixels when we finally found Bob. In my state I was of no use to him. Half broken and my circuits crossed, I had one final idea. 

"Bob, the only way we can get through Mouse's trap and not be destroyed without the web creature shield is if you and I merge and we form our own shield around the Saucy Mare."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's the only way. I'm of no use to you in this state anyway. It will only bring us closer."

"Thank you, old friend."

Then we merged, and we've been merged ever since. I had finally seen my true purpose, and I was willing to fulfill my position. I still am willing. One of my ideas was right, however; guardians can't survive without us... But it's not due to us alone… We have to be a team.


End file.
